Keene State Sneaks by Men's Soccer in Conference Opener

BOSTON, Mass. – An unassisted goal by Keene State College’s Pat Anthony would be all the Owls (2-3-1, 1-0 LEC) would need as they narrowly edged the University of Massachusetts Boston men’s soccer (4-1-0, 0-1 LEC) team by the final score of 1-0 Saturday afternoon at Clark Athletic Center Field in the Little East Conference opener for both teams.

The goal which skipped across the ground from about 20 yards out, took a last second hop that caught UMass Boston goalkeeper Brycen Dowd (Mansfield, MA) by surprise. The ball managed to get through Dowd’s hands to give the Owls the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the match.

In what became an extremely physical contest, the two squads battled back and forth for all 90 minutes. Each team had some great opportunities which barely missed their targets. Dowd and his Keene State counterpart Malcom Cheney were each tested heavily, especially in the second half.

On the afternoon, Cheney totaled nine saves to earn his second win of the year, while Saturday’s loss marked the first for Dowd who earned three saves.

The Beacons went on to finish the match with a combined 18 shots, nine of which were on goal. Keene State, which entered Saturday’s game coming off one of the worse losses in the program’s history –7-0 loss at Western New England – totaled 15 shots on the day, four on goal.

Both teams totaled nine corner kicks each in the match. For the Beacons, Victor Hugo Costa (Malden, MA), and Kelvin Martinez (East Boston, MA) led the team in shots on goal with two each. Scott Douglas and Cam Blair each managed three shots to lead the Owls offense.

Men’s soccer returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Salem State University for a 7 p.m. non-conference match.